American fans SLAM tennis star Chris Eubanks after he suffered ‘shocking’ Olympics defeat to Lebanese player in Paris
American tennis fans were very critical of Chris Eubanks on Sunday after he was knocked out in the first round at the Olympic Games.
Benjamin Hassan achieved a historic victory at Roland Garros in Paris, becoming the first Lebanese player to win a match in an Olympic tennis tournament, beating Eubanks.
The German-born Hassan, ranked 170th in the world, won 6-4, 6-2 in just 53 minutes in one of the best victories of his career.
“I’m incredibly happy. We’re just enjoying it with the whole team. We’re really proud and I’m proud of myself,” the 29-year-old told reporters.
“It was an incredible atmosphere. I just tried to stay calm, because I didn’t want to waste too much energy. When I won, I could let it all out.”
American tennis fans were quick to criticize Chris Eubanks after his humiliating first-round exit
Americans, however, were quick to attack Eubanks. On X, someone posted a message stating that he was in Paris “as the mascot of the US team.”
Another posted: ‘Wow! What the hell happened? Chris Eubanks on clay isn’t a ball of fire but this is still a shocking surprise.
‘First Naomi Osaka and now this! Congratulations Hassan, his country will be proud!’,
“What a fall… Eubanks really fell,” another commented.
Meanwhile, another fan posted: ‘Eubanks is such a fluke. Had a purple patch on grass last year but in reality he’s just a challengers player.’
Benjamin Hassan became the first Lebanese player to win a match in an Olympic tennis tournament
Hassan only started his career as a professional footballer at the age of 22. Previously, he mainly played for fun.
But now he is living his dream as an Olympian and can look forward to a second round match against Argentine Sebastian Baez.
He threw himself into life in the athletes’ village and collected quite a collection of badges.
“I think Japan is the most special because I’m a huge fan of Japan. I like to watch a lot of animated manga,” he said.
Hassan was not the only Lebanese player in the draw, as Hady Habib lost to French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday. Hassan and Habib also lost in doubles on Sunday.